A rockfish in the aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco.

Photo: Beck Diefenbach, Special To The Chronicle

A rockfish in the aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences in...

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In this file photo att sunrise in Noyo Harbor, a Caito Fisheries dock worker sorts rockfish hauled from the trawler "Stormbringer". This rockfish is commonly called pacific red snapper.
Noyo Harbor at the south end of Fort Bragg still supports a commercial fishery with a small fleet of salmon boats and groundfish trawlers.

That snapper that looks so appealing on the menu, perhaps cooked with a bit of garlic and thyme, is no longer taboo.

The Monterey Bay Aquarium updated its popular Seafood Watch on Tuesday, and the news for diners was good: The program removed 21 West Coast fish from its "Avoid" list, saying that once-dwindling numbers of groundfish - which include rockfish, also known as snapper - are rebounding and now plentiful enough to eat.

Or at least eat responsibly.

Groundfish were one of the West Coast's staple fisheries - but their population took a dive because of overfishing. Seafood Watch scientists credited stronger efforts to protect the schools for their recovery.

"You've got this management regime that's really stepped in and done what it's needed to do," said Santi Roberts, a Seafood Watch science manager. "It's a big turnaround in the last 10 or 15 years."

Groundfish live at the bottom of the ocean. Since the fishery was declared a federal disaster in 2000, ocean regulators have tightened fishing quotas and even closed certain areas to fishing.

But after evaluating 84 percent of the groundfish catch in California, Oregon and Washington, Seafood Watch scientists found the populations to be ecologically sustainable and rated the various species, which include sole, flounder and sablefish, as "Best Choice" or "Good Alternative" menu options.

The program has guided environmentally conscious diners, restaurants and other seafood purveyors since 1999. Its scientists consider more than 350 species of fish worldwide - and whether they can be eaten guilt-free.

More fish on plate

The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program, which provides advice to diners on responsible eating, upgraded the status of several groundfish because they appear to be making a recovery. They include the following: